New €1bn public service media fund proposed by People Before Profit

People Before Profit has said it would scrap the licence fee and remove all commercial advertising from RTÉ which it believes should be funded instead with €500 million annually in public money.

Launching a new party policy document on public service broadcasting, Paul Murphy TD said PBP favours the establishment of a €1 billion annual fund intended to transform the media landscape over time which would be paid for by what he described as a “big tech” tax.

In addition to RTÉ, other media organisations, ranging from larger commercial operators to small community outlets, could apply for public funding. Ultimately, he said, the money would be targeted exclusively at the not-for-profit sector which the party hopes would be able to grow with public backing.

In the case of RTÉ, Mr Murphy said many of the national broadcaster’s governance issues were rooted in its underfunding and resulting need to chase commercial revenue.

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He said dispensing with the licence fee was the right thing to do as it was “a regressive tax imposed on households regardless of their income”. Taking advertising out the organisation’s funding model would eliminate the justification put forward during the recent governance scandal for the inflated salaries of some presenters while freeing the organisation to pursue a much broader public service agenda.

Under the proposals, RTÉ would receive an almost 50 per cent increase in revenue based on 2021 figures. Asked about the more immediate prospect of a substantial financial shortfall at the organisation due to growing levels of non-payment of the licence fee, Mr Murphy said the Government should provide additional funding.

In return for the guarantee of €500 million annual funding in future years, he said substantial reform would be required with pay-caps of around €100,000, an end to “bogus self-employment” and the establishment of a board more representative of wider society among the goals mentioned.

The rest of the money, another €500 million, he suggested, should be distributed through a newly established public body to which any media organisation could apply for backing.

Asked whether the policy was effectively a plan for government control of the State’s media, he said: “I don’t think it is, but I would make the point that right now, the vast majority of the media that people consume is controlled by private corporations who have no aspect of democratic accountability and are just pursuing their own profit.”

Asked if right wing, fringe media would be entitled to apply he initially suggested that it was already well funded by overseas backers but ultimately said “media (organisations) that are operating on a not-for-profit basis would be able to apply for funding”.

The scheme would be funded through the imposition of additional taxes on existing tech, communications and social media companies, it is suggested.

The document envisages a 1 per cent tax on the profits on all information and communications companies with an additional 1.5 per cent “big tech tax” to be levied on the profits of the largest firms.

Speaking at the launch, Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at TU Dublin, Harry Browne, formerly a journalist at The Irish Times, said he was not a member of PBP and had had no part in drawing up its new policy but that he had come to express approval at its main planks.

The proposal to abolish the licence fee, he said, was in line with the thinking outlined by the Future of Media Commission report, and reflected policies adopted in some other countries.

He said he liked the wider proposals because they are “a defence of RTÉ, which is needed at this time” and supportive of the public service media ideal.